


something wicked this way comes

by humanveil



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Community: hp_halloween, Gen, Implied/Referenced Domestic Violence, Pre-Canon, Rituals
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-31
Updated: 2020-10-31
Packaged: 2021-03-07 16:01:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 200
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26930317
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/humanveil/pseuds/humanveil
Summary: Strange, strange happenings, down by Spinner’s End.
Comments: 5
Kudos: 15





	something wicked this way comes

**Author's Note:**

> Written as part of the [2020](https://hp-halloween.livejournal.com/220234.html) round of [HP Halloween](https://hp-halloween.dreamwidth.org/218488.html). Many thanks to diabolica for the beta!

The riverbed glistens in the night, his mother a silhouette against the moon’s reflection. Severus watches, eyes wide and curious, with knees drawn to his chest.

_He wakes at the witching hour, to Eileen’s frail frame bent over his bed. “Follow me,” she orders, voice like smoke._

_He goes instinctively._

Six black candles stand steeped in mud, wicks lit by magic. They cast shadows across Eileen’s face and turn her pale skin saturated, deep orange making her appear less than human. In the half-dark, Severus watches as she completes the circle with an ancient, rusted athame, a lock of his father’s hair, and a smoking goblet filled with mead dark as blood.

_“Where are we going?” Severus tries, stumbling in his effort to match his mother’s pace._

_His only answer is silence._

Magic, old and ominous, falls from Eileen’s lips like prayer. The book in her hand is leather-bound, tattered; Severus recognises it as one of the tomes he isn’t allowed to touch. _Dark magic,_ his mother had warned him once. _Dangerous…_

_“What was that?” he asks, after._

_Eileen cups his cheek, her touch like ice. “We’ll be safe now,” is all she says, bony fingers brushing over bruised skin._


End file.
